1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to low-volume irrigation systems and techniques and specifically to low-volume apparatus and methods useful for watering potted plants in a nursery, greenhouse, retail store or similar locations.
2. Description of the Background
There are numerous existing approaches to the irrigation of living plants. The term “low-volume irrigation” (sometimes referred to as “micro-irrigation”) is used in connection with a class of irrigation systems, apparatus and methods designed to apply a small quantity of water to an individual plant or a small number of immediately adjacent plants, usually at the base of the plant. One type of low-volume irrigation system uses a small spray head, referred to generically as a “microjet,” which is removably attached to the top of a stake pushed into the ground adjacent the base of the plant. Water is fed through the spray head via a length of flexible plastic tubing from the main feed line. In a typical low-volume installation such as in an orange grove, for example, there may be hundreds or even thousands of individual spray heads and associated tubing connected together in the irrigation system. Therefore, because the quantities of water in each feed line and through the corresponding spray head is small, the size and dimensions of these elements (e.g., spray head, stake and tubing) may also be correspondingly small and fabricated from inexpensive plastics.
There have been efforts in the past to apply low-volume irrigation techniques to the watering of plants being grown in movable pots, usually in a nursery, greenhouse, retail store or similar location where the plants are being maintained or grown for sale.